Police keep watch on a house as they search for a heavily armed gunman following the shooting of three Mounties in Moncton, N.B., on June 5, 2014. Arming front line officers with carbine rifles was a “high priority” for senior Mounties three years before a shooting rampage in Moncton, N.B. (Marc Grandmaison/The Canadian Press)

RCMP fined $550,000 in wake of fatal Moncton shooting rampage

The force was convicted of failing to provide adequate use-of-force equipment, user training

The force was convicted of failing to provide its members with adequate use-of-force equipment and user training.

Carbine rifles were not available to general duty officers at the time of the Moncton shootings, and during the Labour Code trial, numerous witnesses said they could have made a difference.

Jackson agreed.

However, he said the response of the force since the incident “has been robust.” He said 56 of 60 recommendations in a report on the incident have been acted on.

Acting RCMP Commissioner Daniel Dubeau, who was present for the sentencing, said outside the courthouse that his thoughts were with the fallen officers and “the immense loss to their families and that’s something we can never replace.

“We also have to remember all the harm and the damage that was done to other people that attended that day and the community at large,” he said.

Dubeau said work remains to be done in improving the RCMP’s workplace safety.

“We really have to continue working together on their behalf and all our injured employees’ behalf to make it a safe and healthier workplace,” he said.

The high-powered carbines were approved in 2011, but their rollout was delayed on several occasions.

Then-commissioner Bob Paulson testified during the RCMP’s trial that management had concerns over the possible militarization of the force.

He told the court he worried the carbines could “distance the public from the police.” His testimony was met with anger and frustration from some members of the force.

At a sentencing hearing in November, Crown prosecutor Paul Adams asked that a $1-million penalty include a $100,000 fine to the court, $500,000 to the Universite de Moncton for memorial scholarships, $150,000 to educational trust funds for the children of the deceased officers, as well as other donations.

Bourque pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years.